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Apr 13, 2020 / 18:10

Vietnam tourism ministry cries for relief aid

Local authorities have proposed the government remove obstacles for the tourism industry which is heavily affected by the coronavirus pandemic.

The Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism has submitted to the government measures to relieve the ordeal of the tourism industry caused by the coronavirus pandemic.

 A hotel in Hoan Kiem district, Hanoi closed due to the Covid-19 pandemic. Photo: Tien Phong Online
The proposal also mentioned that homestay owners, small and medium-sized businesses and laid-off tourism workers would be entitled to benefit from the VND62 trillion (US$2.66 billion) financial package.

Other measures include the temporary suspension of social insurance contribution until June 2021 and relaxing the regulation on employment insurance in 2020.  

The Ministry of Planning and Investment will report the additional proposals to the government.

The relief measures are corresponding to scenarios depending on the evolution of the pandemic. 

In the first scenario, if the pandemic is contained only in Vietnam, the industry will focus on stimulating the domestic tourism market with emphasis on Meetings, incentives, conferencing, exhibitions (MICE) and roll out a promotional campaign themed “Vietnam - Safe tourism.”  

In the second scenario, if the pandemic is contained in Vietnam and some other countries, the industry is expected to launch a communication campaign to promote “Vietnam NOW - Safety and Smiling”, a tourism stimulus program with discounts and enhance outbound tourism promotion to those countries free from the pandemic. 

For the last one where the pandemic is under control worldwide, promotional programs and stimulus packages will be launched for both domestic and international tourists, especially through increasing flight frequencies, opening more air routes, visa exemption and visa fee reduction.